


Escape

by Peppermint_YGO (Peppermint_Shamrock)



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-15
Updated: 2017-07-15
Packaged: 2018-12-02 13:46:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11510658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peppermint_Shamrock/pseuds/Peppermint_YGO
Summary: Ruri manages to escape Academia. But where she ends up is not her home. Fortunately, Yaiba is willing to help out. Now if only they can get to her brother before he leaves with the Lancers tomorrow...Written for Arc V Rare Pair week Day 7 Prompt: Tomorrow





	Escape

**Author's Note:**

> Heard you liked rare pairs so how about Ruri/Yaiba? I know it seems random but I like the idea of pairing up the LDS trio with a bracelet girl each. Masumi - Yuzu, obviously, Hokuto - Selena, and Yaiba - Ruri (because Rin goes with Yuugo always :D)
> 
> I know Ruri ultimately did have her cards when we encounter her in canon, but I think before they put the parasite in (and it seemed to be a more recent development, so I think at this point she wouldn't have the parasite), they probably would not let her have her cards, which is why she doesn't have them in this fic.

Ruri had lost track of how long she’d been captive. Months, probably, though how many she couldn’t say. Not that she’d bothered counting the days even from the beginning. There was no point. No one would come to save her – she knew that the instant she found herself in this tower. Everyone that ever gave a damn for her would’ve assumed, when she hadn’t returned, that she’d been turned into a card just like everyone else. Even if by some miracle they knew she’d been taken captive, they were in a war constantly struggling for their own survival. They couldn’t spare people for anything else, especially not for rescuing just one captive.

And that was if they were even still alive. Ruri wanted to have more faith in them, but months of captivity without hope had made her cynical and morbid. She’d resigned herself to this situation, trapped in a tower until the time came for them to use her – they’d said that, when she was first locked up here. That there was some grand purpose they needed her for.

And yet…when she saw the chance, her will burned within her again. It didn’t matter if it was futile – she was going to escape.

Though escaping her tower was surprisingly easy, the tower was on an island. And as far as she could see, there were no boats – even if she knew how to sail, it was pointless. She nearly gave into despair again, but then remembered that the invaders had used their duel disks to enter and leave her world…all she needed to do was get ahold of one of those, and she would be able to return easily. Furthermore, it would give her a means of defending herself, as her own duel disk and cards had been taken from her.

It was early in the night, which was fortunate. Students paid her no attention as they headed off to their dorms, yawning.

“Demoted. I can’t believe it…it should have been easy to take them out…”

“It was sheer luck! And numbers. To punish us for this…but it is the way it is. We failed. We’re no longer worthy to be considered Obelisk Force.”

Instinctively, Ruri hid. She knew the words “Obelisk Force” and the terror those particular soldiers had brought. She did not want to encounter them – even if they assumed she was just another student. But they would certainly recognize the red flag of the resistance that she still bore…

“We should just consider ourselves lucky to be alive. And at least they didn’t take away our decks…”

“Death would be less of an indignity – now we’ll have to live with the shame. Well…we will just have to prove ourselves again. Good night to you,” one of the pair said to the other, as he walked off. Before the remaining one could take off, Ruri looked around, saw that they were alone, and seized her chance.

She lept forward, grabbing the enemy from behind. She quickly stifled his cry of alarm, and dragged him into the shadows as he struggled. Now then...she had to play this right.

“Coward, disgrace to Academia,” she hissed, trying her best to play the part. “You should have died with honor. You don’t have any right to be here – surrender your cards to me.”

He struggled more, and she dug her nails into his skin. As terrifying as these soldiers were in a battle of cards, it seemed that this one at least had no idea how to handle physical combat. How he had even made it into the elite forces was beyond her, but it didn’t matter at this point. All that mattered was that Ruri could use him.

“Take off your duel disk. Leave it on the ground, and walk away. If you want to see tomorrow, that is,” she said menacingly. She didn’t know if she could actually carry out that threat, but fortunately she didn’t need to find out, as the soldier did as she said, removing the duel disk. She released him, and he fled.

Ruri breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that it had worked. She picked up the disk, and examined it. She wasn’t sure how to actually transfer herself back home…there must be a way, right? And if he’d just come back from there, it might already be set…

She had to hurry. There was no guarantee that the one she’d just overpowered wouldn’t run off and get backup. Hopefully he really was the coward he appeared to be. Finding what appeared to be the right button, Ruri closed her eyes and pressed it, and felt the world around her rush away.

She opened her eyes.

Though she was no longer at that accursed school, this was not anywhere she recognized. This was not Heartland. This was not her home.

She stared in amazement. Wherever she was, it did not appear ravaged by war. Intact buildings, lush greenery, bright streetlamps…it was so…ordinary. Although it didn’t look anything like Heartland, it gave her a rush of nostalgia for how things were before. Back when things were peaceful.

She shook her head. Even if things looked peaceful, she couldn’t trust that it was. Once Academia realized she’d escaped, they’d come after her. She was putting everyone in this peaceful city in danger just by being here.

She hated that she no longer could care enough to leave right then and there. Instead, her mind went straight to the practicalities of survival. She needed protection, she needed comrades to help her. Even if it put this city at risk…she needed to survive. She needed to find people who could fight. Warriors. Selfish, she supposed, but…

“Hey, Yuzu! Gongenzaka around? Figured you would be getting some rest before tomorrow.”

Ruri jumped as she realized that the speaker was addressing her. She stared at him suspiciously. He had spoken as if he knew her, yet he’d called her by some other name, spoken of someone she didn’t know. Was this a trap? No…he didn’t seem to be from Academia. He wasn’t wearing a uniform of theirs, and had a sword across his back. Perhaps…was he a warrior? Should she trust him?

“You okay? Don’t you recognize me? It’s Yaiba…”

“No. You’ve…mistaken me for someone else, I think,” Ruri said, trying to sound pleasant and not like she had just escaped prison.

“Really? You’re not Hiiragi Yuzu? You look just like her.”

“No. I don’t know any ‘Yuzu’. My name is…” she hesitated, but then decided that she would have to risk it. If he was Academia, she wanted to find out sooner rather than later. And if he was trustworthy, she didn’t want to lie to him. “Kurosaki Ruri.”

“Kurosaki? There’s a Kurosaki in my class…keeps to himself a lot but…”

“What?” Ruri froze. Could it be? Could her brother be here of all places? How? Why? Could he really be…no. It had to just be a coincidence, someone else named Kurosaki, it couldn’t be…

“Yeah, he’s a bit of a loner, Kurosaki. You know him? Kurosaki Shun?”

“You know my brother? He’s here? He’s…here…” Why? Why had he left Heartland? He wouldn’t abandon his comrades…had they been forced to leave? Academia had finally conquered completely…? But even then, her brother would have kept fighting until the end, right?

“Your brother? Hell, I didn’t know he had a sister. Guess he doesn’t talk much but…yeah, I know him. Hey, you okay?”

“He’s…here…”

“Yeah. You didn’t…know that?”

Ruri said nothing, trying to take it all in.

“Hey, look. Why don’t I…get you inside. Get you some food or something. Then tomorrow we can try and catch Kurosaki before he leaves.”

“He’s…leaving?”

“Yeah, with the rest of the Lancers, of course. You don’t know about that either?”

“Lancers? Are they…warriors?”

“Yeah, of sorts. Akaba Reiji formed them today after Academia invaded during the Battle Royale…you really didn’t know about any of that? Where have you been?”

“…Academia was here?”

“Yeah. I was pretty shocked when they showed us the footage, too...”

“You…fought them off?”

“Well, the Lancers did, yeah.”

“You fought off Academia?”

“Yes, I already said that…come on, come with me, I think you need to sit down or something…when was the last time you ate anything?”

“I don’t remember. They would bring me food but sometimes I wouldn’t eat…” Ruri went with him willingly, her head spinning. If they had successfully fought off Academia, if this boy was really a comrade of her brother, then she could trust them. She could trust them to protect her from Academia.

“They?”

“Academia. I was…a prisoner. I escaped.”

“Woah, what? A prisoner of Academia? How did you…?”

“I stole a duel disk. It took me here. I don’t know where here is…”

“You’re in Maiami City. Here, come on, this is my house, you can sit down here. I’ll get you something…some water, food…”

Ruri accepted the offered water and food, and it did help. She felt better, could think more clearly. She probably had skipped the last meal that had brought to her.

The boy, Yaiba, told her about Academia invading during a tournament. It sounded like it was not a full-scale invasion, but still…that they’d been held off was promising. In turn, Ruri explained that her home had been invaded, destroyed by Academia, and she taken prisoner.

“For how long?”

“I don’t know. I never counted. I never thought I’d get away…I still have trouble believing I’ve done it.”

“You have. You’re here. And tomorrow we’ll go find Kurosaki and you’ll be able to see him again,” Yaiba said. “You know, if all that hadn’t happened today, I’d find it hard to believe you, but after the Championship, I…well I believe every word.”

“Wait…you said my brother was leaving? Why is he leaving?”

“Well, the Lancers are gonna take on Academia, of course.”

“But…so few…”

“I don’t know. But I’m sure Akaba Reiji knows what he’s doing. But yeah, the Lancers are leaving tomorrow. I’m sure if we get there early enough we can catch them.

“…Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Taking me here. Taking me to my brother tomorrow.”

“Oh…yeah. Of course.”

“I’m putting you in danger, you know. Academia will come after me.”

“I won’t let that happen. I’ll get you to Kurosaki safely. I’m LDS’s best Synchro student and I swear I won’t let Academia touch you,” Yaiba promised. “But…what does Academia want with you?”

“I don’t know. They only said they needed me for an important purpose…oh god.” A sudden realization flooded her with dread. “That means…it was my fault. If it wasn’t for me, they wouldn’t have come to Heartland, they wouldn’t have destroyed everything. How can I face my brother?”

“H…hey, I’m sure that’s not true. Academia is just a bunch of bastards. Whatever they told you, I’m sure it’s nonsense. They’re just killers.”

“Y…yeah.”

“You said you stole one of their duel disks, right?”

“Yes.”

“Great! So we can study their deck, know their strategies, and find a way to counter them.”

“I suppose…but they took away my own cards. I have no way to fight,” Ruri said. “I _won’t_ use their infernal cards.”

Yaiba nodded, seeming to understand a little of her hatred for those cards. He looked thoughtful, and looked to the disk and then back to her. He reached into his pocket.

“I’m guessing you’re an Xyz-user like your brother, right?”

“Yes.”

“Maybe…could you use this?” Yaiba asked, pulling a deck out of his pocket. He showed it to her, watching her carefully. She examined the deck.

“It’s not my usual style but…I could certainly use it. Yes.”

“Good. Then we can make a trade for now. You can take this one and I’ll take that Academia deck for study.”

“Okay…you said you used Synchro, though, so why…?”

“It’s not mine. So you’ll have to give it back eventually,” Yaiba said, his expression turning somber. “It…belonged to a friend of mine. Academia…got him. So…use it well, and honor him. Get vengeance for him.”

Ruri nodded.

“I will.”

“Right. Well, you can stay here for the night, and we’ll get up early in the morning and head over to LDS before the Lancers take off.”

“Thank you again for your kindness.”

Ruri did not fall asleep right away. Not that the couch Yaiba had set her up with was uncomfortable, but rather, she was still nervous. Nervous that Academia would break down the door any moment and take her back. Nervous about how her brother would react to her in the morning. Nervous…

In the morning, when Yaiba asked her how she slept, she lied.

She could tell he didn’t believe her, but there wasn’t enough time to dwell on it. He quickly prepared a small breakfast for the two of them, and they were on their way, running down the streets together towards their goal.

“We’ve got to find them somewhere…I know they’ll have to meet up here,” Yaiba said. As soon as he said that, they rounded the corner into a stern woman who looked disapprovingly at them.

“What are you doing?”

“Ah…sorry, Principal. But we need to catch the Lancers before they leave! It’s important! This is Kurosaki’s sister, she has to see him!”

The woman briefly looked surprised, but her stern look remained.

“The Lancers have already gathered. They will be departing soon. If what you say is true, that is an interesting development…however, as it may jeopardize Kurosaki’s involvement with the Lancers, I cannot allow you to see them.”

“Jeopardize? What do you mean?” Ruri asked. “I won’t stop him from whatever it is he needs to do, I just want to see him, let him know I’m safe.”

“That is exactly what will jeopardize his involvement. He believes you to be in Academia’s hands, he will fight. However, if he knows otherwise, then…”

“Hang on, now that’s not fair!” Yaiba said.

“I will inform Reiji, but it will be at his discretion to let Kurosaki know of this. In the meantime, you should be more cognizant of your position in this school. You should not talk back to me, Toudou Yaiba.”

“Like hell! Ruri’s gonna see her brother!” Yaiba said, grabbing Ruri’s hand. Without saying a word, Ruri instantly knew Yaiba’s intentions, and they pushed past the stern principal and sprinted down the hall. She shouted after them but they paid no attention. As they ran, they caught the sounds of distant voices.

“That’s them!”

They turned down another hall, the voices becoming louder as they went. Ruri could feel her rapid breaths as they pounded down the hall. The door seemed far too far away.

“Shit…she…sent…people…after…us…” Yaiba panted. Ruri didn’t need to glance behind her to know that he was right. They had to hurry.

They rushed down the hall. Not even a moment to catch their breaths before they shoved against the door in unison.

It gave way, and Yaiba and Ruri burst into the room.

**Author's Note:**

> Are cliffhangers on a one-shot evil?
> 
> Oh well :D


End file.
